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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · branch · straw · mouse · present · chest · key · cold

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — there
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rash — a series
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — the time now
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — not warm
  19. branch — a division
  20. present — a gift
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com